Vulture Ranks 20 World Cup Films as Men’s Tournament Yields Fewer Than 1 per Cycle
Updated
Updated · Vulture · Jun 26
Vulture Ranks 20 World Cup Films as Men’s Tournament Yields Fewer Than 1 per Cycle
1 articles · Updated · Vulture · Jun 26
Summary
Vulture counted just 20 fictional films centered on the men’s World Cup since 1930, arguing cinema has oddly neglected a tournament often billed as the world’s biggest sporting event.
The ranking was published with America ’26 underway and excludes films about the women’s World Cup and the Homeless World Cup, framing the list as a measure of the men’s tournament’s limited screen presence.
Vulture said Hollywood’s U.S.-centric sports focus, a 40-year stretch when the USMNT failed to qualify, and the difficulty of recreating elite football on screen help explain the thin filmography.
The list spans comedies, political dramas, coming-of-age stories and period pieces, from bottom-ranked FIFA vanity project United Passions to top pick Offside, Jafar Panahi’s 2006 film about Iranian women barred from attending a qualifier.